Public · Community college

Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Wesson, Mississippi · Distant rural

#4 best value in Mississippi
14%
Transfer rate
$3,894
Avg net price
50%
Grad / completion
$31,241
Median earnings

Copiah-Lincoln Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Wesson, Mississippi (distant rural setting), enrolling 1,922 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,922 undergradsDistant ruralNJCAA Division I

About Wesson, Mississippi

Wesson is a town in Copiah and Lincoln counties, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant rural
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
44 miles to Jackson, MS
To the ocean
91 miles
Nearest airport
47 miles to Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers (JAN)

How Copiah-Lincoln Community College compares

Graduation rate50%

Higher than 36% · #19 of 33 in Mississippi

First-year retention73%

Higher than 49%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$31,241

Higher than 36% · #13 of 28 in Mississippi

Average net price$3,894

Cheaper than 94% · #4 cheapest of 34 in Mississippi

Median debt at graduation$7,435

Lower than 80%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 29%

Undergraduate enrollment1,922

Larger than 81%

Percentiles compare Copiah-Lincoln Community College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Mississippi.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,922undergrads
  • Women1,14259%
  • Men78041%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White50%
  • Black44%
  • Hispanic2.9%
  • Asian0.5%
  • Other or multiracial2.0%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,922
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
40%
First-generation students
41%
Students over 25
12%
Median family income
$18,658
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$47,457
Endowment
$12,380,329

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 546 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Mississippi93%
  • Other U.S. states4.9%
  • International2.0%

Most first-years stay in state — Copiah-Lincoln Community College draws overwhelmingly from Mississippi.

2% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$4,000
Out-of-state tuition
$5,000
Room & board
$5,400
Books & supplies
$1,400
Total cost of attendance
$12,490
Average net price
$3,894

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
50%
First-year retention
73%
Transferred to another college
14%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$28,001
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$31,241
Median debt at graduation
$7,435
Students with federal loans
10%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
44%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
35%
First-generation
34%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
595
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
31%
Housing charge (year)
$2,300
Meal plan (year)
$2,700
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
217 (153 men · 64 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (7)

Football65
Soccer51
Baseball32
Basketball26
Softball18
Tennis18
Golf7

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (2,932 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Arson
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$3,165
$30–48k
$3,289
$48–75k
$5,624
$75–110k
$8,123
$110k+
$11,501

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

52%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,411
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 52% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,411. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 648 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$31,241
Typical debt at graduation
$7,435
Debt vs. one year's pay
24%
Out-earn a HS grad
35%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$28,050
Men
$39,872

Men out-earn women by $11,822 (42%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
90°F
Winter low
39°F
Annual rain
61.6″
Annual snow
0.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.03.16.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Hazlehurst 5 SW, MS US station (10.2 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Copiah-Lincoln Community College side by side →

Colleges near Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.